


Bad At Love

by bookaddict_99



Series: If I... [2]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College, Drabble, F/F, F/M, Family Secrets, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, One Shot, Past Relationship(s), Secret Relationship, Short One Shot, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26777389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookaddict_99/pseuds/bookaddict_99
Summary: True love was a capitalist idea made for women to suffer and jackasses to get rich. Weddings were stupid and love definitely didn’t exist or maybe she was just in denial. After all, believing love didn’t exist was better than admitting you were bad at it.
Relationships: Artemis Crock/Kaldur'ahm, Artemis Crock/Wally West, Artemis Crock/Zatanna Zatara, Dick Grayson/Zatanna Zatara, Kaldur'ahm/Tula, Linda Park/Wally West, Raquel Ervin/Kaldur'ahm
Series: If I... [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1943503
Kudos: 6





	Bad At Love

She was a failure. 

Ok, so probably not a failure but she was definitely lacking in the love department.

It was proven when she left her high school sweetheart for California. Getting accepted to the college of her dreams had been one of the best feelings of the world and Wally had respected that. In fact he’d practically encouraged her to go there. 

So they tried the whole long distance thing. Frequent text and facetime helped them survive the loneliness and every break was spent together. It had worked. It had been fine. Even when the texts became less frequent and the visits spare, it worked. It was all fine until March 23. 

She’d saved up enough money to go surprise him at his college. He didn’t get out for spring break until the 24 so the surprise had been there, she just didn’t expect for her to be the one surprised. 

She’d seen him. With his crooked teeth and messy carrot tinge hair and had felt breathless. She’d been happy. Snuggled up with him on his couch talking nonsense as they breathed in each other's presence. They’d kissed and had been so caught up with the reunion that the presence of his roommates had shocked her. Because his friends were great apparently and suddenly she was the bitch.

How funny that the opinion of others had suddenly become more important than hers. She hated his friends. He hated her family. She hated his flirting with anything that moved. He hated her independence. 

The fight had lasted hours. It had ended with red faces and hoarse voices. In the end the trip had been a waste. Well not completely if you counted the fact that she had robbed his liquor stash. 

A 4 year relationship that ended in minutes.

But then August came. And with it sophomore year, including the batch of international exchange students. Which is how she found herself being introduced to Zatanna Zatara in a boring english lecture. While Artemis was busting her butt to achieve her Business degree Zatanna had come for a more liberal career. 

She was happy and mesmerizing. With dark long hair and bright blue eyes; the opposite of Wally.

She followed politics and kept up with Artemis during their heavy debates. She didn’t mind spending the whole afternoon at the library whereas Wally would be bursting with energy to leave.

She was her girlfriend and they clicked.

They’d steal kisses in the hallways were the homophobic teachers laid. Crashed parties and spent every available moment together. They’d been the perfect couple.

But she was also similar to Wally. She was curious and persistent. Quick to anger but quick to forgive. She was naive and innocent, so then came the lies. The attitude and the realization. She couldn’t help it. Lying had been part of Artemis' life. Wally had grown up around her past. He knew the dark parts of her that she wanted to hide, the parts she didn’t want to talk about. But Zatanna wanted to know. She wanted to meet her family. 

But their relationship survived. Hanging by thread and suspended above ocean water. But the weight became too much, and so, to mark their year of success, graduation proved to be their breaking point. Another relationship ruined-By her. 

And here she was. Sitting in the club with the skimpiest outfit she owned trying to ignore the two neatly wrapped envelopes that laid in the confines of her purse. Envelopes courtesy of Richard Grayson & Zatanna Zatara and Wally West & Linda Park.

The  _ joy _ . The knowledge that the two people she loved had found happiness in another person while she spent the night getting drunk on tequila. The confirmation that she was meant to be alone. That she wasn’t worthy.

“You really need to lay off the drinks. You know tequila makes you...direct,” a deep voice stated.

“I’m always direct,” she snorted into her cup trying to swallow down the tears wanting to burst forth.

“Yes, you are,” he paused. “It’s not true, you know?”

“What’s not?” she asked, playing ignorant.

“I heard your muttering before I got here.”

She groaned, swinging her legs from the bar and stumbling upright. She didn’t make it far before a rough hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back. The hug didn’t startle her, but the tears definitely did. She sighed, enjoying the tension leaking out of her as her friend became a shield from prying eyes.

“Tula was...she was everything and Raquel was my love... but that doesn’t mean love stops once your loved ones find happiness.”

“Now’s not the time to be wise Kaldur,” she whined at the caribbean man.

“If you’re bad at love, so am I,” he laughed. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”


End file.
